24 Weeks

TGIF and happy day after Halloween, a.k.a. the first day of November.  Where has the year gone?!

Apparently a lot of stuff has been happening inside me the past four weeks.  Here’s where we’re at now:

How your baby's growing:

Your baby's growing steadily, having gained about 4 ounces since last week. That puts him at about 1 1/3 pounds. Since he's almost a foot long (about the size of an ear of corn), he cuts a pretty lean figure at this point, but his body is filling out proportionally and he'll soon start to plump up. His brain is also growing quickly now, and his taste buds are continuing to develop. His lungs are developing "branches" of the respiratory "tree" as well as cells that produce surfactant, a substance that will help his air sacs inflate once he hits the outside world. His skin is still thin and translucent, but that will start to change soon.

How mom is changing:

In the past few weeks, the top of your uterus has risen above your belly button and is now about the size of a soccer ball.

How I’m feeling: Same old, same old here. My lower back bothers me a little the day after the more intense workouts, but it’s not enough to keep me from doing said workouts. Yet.

Workouts: Still going strong! I’m still attending my once-a-week boot camp class and going to my other usual classes (PHX, spinning, and muscle conditioning). My schedule’s been different the past couple of weeks with anniversary and birthday dinners, the McHusband being out of town for work, and Halloween so I didn’t work out as often as I normally would have, but I hope to be back on track next week.

Food cravings/aversions: Still a carb queen and unfortunately the scale knows it. As of my check-up on Tuesday, I’d gained six pounds since my last appointment four weeks prior. I’ve gained within the healthy limits so the overall gain isn’t a concern to the doctor, but I don’t want to continue putting on six pounds (or more) each month since I still have four to go. Three to four pounds is the max I’m looking to put on every month.

Sleep: I’m still falling asleep quickly, but I just can’t stay asleep all night to save my life. I don’t know if the McHusband is waking me up or if it’s all the strange dreams that I wake up from and have to think about, but it’s very annoying. I don’t even have to get up to use the bathroom 90% of the time. I wasn’t a good sleeper before being pregnant so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.

Movement: Lots! And I’ve even seen my skin move on the outside. Still can’t quite feel the McBaby on the outside but hopefully soon. Oh, the doctor said I should be feeling the baby about once a day. Well, we must have an athletic phenom on our hands because I feel the McBaby probably 3 to 5 times a day at least.

Belly button in or out: In! But slightly shallower.

Rings on or off: On and in no danger of not fitting so far.

Maternity clothes: Yep! All maternity bottoms for the most part (regular workout bottoms) and the tops are still split about 50-50 between maternity and regular.

Recent fun or interesting things: We had our gender reveal party, which was a lot of fun. The McHusband and I also visited four daycares and while we did like one, we think we may go with a home daycare that’s run by a neighbor’s sister. Definitely more personal and a heck of a lot cheaper!

New baby items: I gave the McHusband a fun onesie, but I think that’s all from this month. We will probably do a registry trip in a couple weeks when the McHusband is back from Vegas. Got any must-have recommendations for us?

Miss anything?: Wine. Woodchuck Fall Cider. Overpriced restaurant drinks while out with the girls. Okay, maybe I didn’t miss seeing those inflated prices on my tab. Sprinting during boot camp and NOT feeling like there’s a medicine ball pressing on my bladder.

P.S. Happy early birthday to Kim!  She’ll be celebrating the real thing tomorrow.